People were calling for John Buchanan's head, and it was probably time for him to go too. Nielsen might be the right kind of coach with experienced players in the side such as Ponting, Hayden, Hussey & Haddin, even Clarke. However, we are at the start of the changing of the guard. If Clarke is our captain, he's more about image than actually working hard at his game, so we're going to need a coach who is going to be hard-nosed and give some discipline to the Y-Gen.

"We're always trying to find ways to get behind the line. "Whether we feel enclosed with the nets being there, I don't know what it is, but I'll still bowl half a foot over in the nets. I don't know how we can fix that.

Originally Posted by Sir Jimmy Anderson

"We think it's an important part of our jobs to stay behind the line. We practise it in the nets and try to replicate that in the middle."

PEWS called this in one of the match threads. First time the stat has been brought up, not the last I imagine.

Yeah, the Haddin bye stat is ridiculous when you consider what some of the balls that went for four byes were actually like. I called it in the matched thread at the time, as you said, that people would bring it up later and take it out of context.

Rejecting 'analysis by checklist' and 'skill absolutism' since Dec '09

Yeah, the Haddin bye stat is ridiculous when you consider what some of the balls that went for four byes were actually like. I called it in the matched thread at the time, as you said, that people would bring it up later and take it out of context.

It's not a perfect measure, no. & nor is dismissals effected by a keeper, but Prior is comfortably ahead of Haddin in that too. &, whilst some of the bye calls have been a bit harsh on Haddin, he's often in no sort of position to even get to the ball when it's fired down leg because his balance is wrong.

It could be Haddin has again not done himself justice, but after two series of being outkept by his opposite number the evidence starts to weigh against him. Fine batsman; mediocre keeper. IMHO, obvz.

"The PFA does not represent players when they have broken the law and been convicted on non-football matters."- Gordon Taylor in 2009 following Marlon King's release after a prison sentence for sexual assault & ABH

Tbf to Prior has supposedly put in a lot of work with former Notts keeper Bruce French, and the results have been clear to see. He is much improved from the guy that drove Ryan Sidebottom round the twist with a number of drops off his bowling, think it was in Sri Lanka.

He has made very few errors so far in this series, and long may it continue.

The color of immortality, nature and envy - you are truly a unique person. While clearly the color of nature, you also symbolize rebirth, fertility and hope in the world. On the other side of the spectrum, a natural aptitude to money with green coming to signify money and possibly even *********!

Regardless of that article, the coach has to be the team's conscience; telling them stuff that they don't necessarily want to hear. To that end, I'm convinced that the team would benefit from having someone like an Allan Border in charge. A bloke who commands respect just from what he's achieved in the game (does Nielsen command respect from what he accomplished?), is not afraid to have uncomfortable conversations with players, tell them things they don't want to hear, knows what it's like to rebuild, and is not afraid to ban WAGs on tour. On this last point, I am convinced that this young side which has not played much cricket together or spent much time in each other's company, would benefit by not having the WAGs around so much. Having them around while doing your job is a privelege to be earned, not a right.

Think it's instructive that not one of the former players mooted in the press has expressed an interest in the job. Rumours of dysfunction spread quickly in any industry.

Reckon the team might respond to a coach similar to Jeff Hammond. Coached SA from '93, delivered a Shield final within a season and a win the next season. Had the clout to keep the older players who had the fire and clear the dead wood, got the most out of talented-but-underperforming players and had a good eye for who in the next crop were likely to do well and gave them a good run. Was no ****ing around with Hammond, he was brutally clear about what it took to win and who was most likely to do it. Plus, as a former quick, had a strong work-ethic, real hard-yards man. Pretty sure he had a hand in getting Siddons here but he was definitely the reason Lehmann and Nobes came back from Vic. Blokes like Jason Gillespie, Shane George, Greg Blewett, Darren Webber, Vinny Nielsen and Pete McIntyre became hard-nosed competitors under him, several played Test cricket soon after. Have to be clear on a couple of points, though; Hammond was given the reins completely by SACA which I dunno if CA would do any more. Plus, he, the captain (Siddons) and the other senior players agreed an awful lot on cricketing matters which is both fortunate and important.

Remember hearing a story where he took all of the squad quickies to the AO nets and said something along the lines of "Alright, listen up. It's well known around the country that SA is full of nothing but poofy trundlers. I care how many A-grade wickets you've got, lengthen your run-ups and try to bowl quick or **** off now and don't come back."

Not everyone responds well to hard task-masters, SA lost a lot of good players and I know his son, Ash, used to go on a lot about what a hard man his dad was but, well, the results speak for themselves. Makes me wonder whether Bomber is available and/or interested. Went to South Africa for years but I know he's back in South Australia.